


20th Century Girls

by rrllao



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, Femslash, Femslash February, Multiple Pairings, i'll update the pairings tags with each new chapter, literally everyone shows up at one point or another, some Sunshine cameos as well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:16:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9682202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rrllao/pseuds/rrllao
Summary: Written for Femslash February 2017; a collection of Muse pairings and AUs/crossovers! Pairings are indicated in the chapter title.





	1. Honoka's Moving Castle (HonoKoto)

Honoka’s heart is small and warm. Kotori is in awe- this is the heart of the woman she loves, awash in blue flame, soft and fluttering against her palms. She’s never held anything so carefully in her entire life. Kotori is careful when she kneels down on the wobbling deck remnant. She looks at Honoka lying so pale and still, then at the heart she holds in her hands. Gently, so gently, Kotori holds her cupped hands out over Honoka’s left breast and watches as Honoka’s heart slips through her fingers and sinks into where it belongs. She leans over carefully, one hand pressed against the deck for support and the other on Honoka’s upper left arm. Kotori kisses Honoka very softly, just once, on the lips, before sitting up again. 

Honoka comes back to life all at once. Her eyes snap open and she sits up far faster than someone who was just dead should be able to do. She looks around- first at the mountains passing by as the castle remnant determinedly stumble-falls across the peaks, then at the two other women huddled more towards the center of the deck. Finally, her gaze lands on Kotori. Honoka’s face lights up- she beams a smile at Kotori and Kotori feels the tears she’s been valiantly keeping back finally start to fall. 

“Honoka!” Kotori wails, throwing her arms around her. She’s crying loudly and doesn’t care that Nico and Chika can hear her. The only thing that matters is that Honoka is breathing and holding her close. That she can feel Honoka’s heart beating strongly inside her chest.

“‘M sorry,” Honoka murmurs over and over. “‘M sorry for scaring you, Kotori.” She runs a hand soothingly up and down Kotori’s back until Kotori gets herself back under control. Kotori sits as close as she can to Honoka, almost in the wizard’s lap.

“Oh,” Honoka says softly, dazedly. She reaches up and runs her hand through Kotori’s shortened hair. Loose strands flutter away in the wind. “Your hair, it looks like...like starlight.” Kotori leans into the hand cupping her face, offers Honoka a watery smile. She sniffles a few more times and Honoka fumbles one-handed through her pants pocket, pulls out a slightly singed handkerchief and offers it to Kotori with one of her lop-sided grins. 

At that moment, the castle remnant decides to skip its way over a crevasse and nearly fumbles the landing. Honoka had been leaning forward to wipe Kotori’s face and is jolted right into her shoulder instead. Nico shrieks and clings to Chika, who looks decidedly green and has a hand pressed over her mouth. Kotori scowls at the deck with a sharp reminder that it isn’t allowed to drop anyone until it reaches the base of the mountains it’s stumbling across. 

“Ow!! Eh?! That hurt!” Honoka furrows her brows and she lets go of Kotori’s waist to pat at her chest in confusion. “Why did it- ah, what the- hey! My heart!” she exclaims. “Kotori! You put it back! Wow, that feels weird.” 

The comical expression on Honoka’s face sends Kotori into peals of laughter. 

“You dummy,” Kotori says, fond yet exasperated. “You just now noticed?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone who read this before I figured out how to add notes to the first chapter again ^^;
> 
> This is the ending scene for a Howl's Moving Castle AU I've been wanting to write for a while. I actually started it a week or two ago, but I've been dying to write this particular scene, so I decided to write it and post it early. It's not like you didn't know how it was going to end, anyways ;) 
> 
> This is crossposted to my tumblr, rrllao, and I appreciate any sort of comments or feedback in general!


	2. The Ancient Muse Bride (Nozomi+Maki)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains themes similar to the series the title is taken from, The Ancient Magus Bride. It contains implied child abuse, references to human trafficking, and general dubious consent, though none of it is of a sexual nature and I tried to keep it pretty light. If this is going to bother you, please consider skipping this chapter.

She’s blindfolded before she’s herded out onto the stage. Maki stumbles across the floor until she’s brought up short by whoever’s leading her and none too gently shoved onto a chair. She can’t see anything past the cloth binding her eyes, but she can hear everything. There are people talking somewhere below and in front of her. She can hear a few words here and there- mostly English, but she catches a bit of her native Japanese and some other languages. None of the words she can make out are polite. She grits her teeth and wishes her hands were free so she could tug on her hair, or fidget with the hem of her too-small dress, or anything to keep her mind off the fact that she can feel the gazes of the audience crawling on her skin. The auctioneer is speaking from a ways to her left, and Maki knows she should be paying attention to what they’re saying but they’re talking too fast for her to make sense of more than a few words every now and then. 

There’s a pause, and Maki feels someone tug on her blindfold. It’s pulled away. Maki squints in the sudden brightness of the spotlight that she’s been sitting under. Her eyes water as her vision adjusts and she blinks away the tears. She cranes her head to try and wipe her cheeks on her shoulders but is thwarted by the person standing behind her, who shakes her, making her scowl. 

“Open your eyes and look up, straight ahead,” the person behind her says in rough Japanese. Every rebellious inch of her wants to keep her eyes shut, just to spite them, but Maki knows she’ll pay for it later if she disobeys, so- she opens her eyes slowly, staring out at the sea of people in front of and below her. There’s a collective gasp from the crowd once her eyes are fully open.

Maki’s eyes are a brilliantly sharp shade of purple, set off by hair an equally sharp shade of red. She knows her looks are striking and that most people don’t expect a Japanese girl to have this sort of coloring. The crowd’s reaction is nothing she hasn’t heard or seen before. Maki looks away from them, defiance in the upward tilt of her chin. If they were simply set on buying a girl with purple eyes, Maki knows that a prettier, more obedient girl could easily be found. 

“Bidding starts at XXXXXX,” the auctioneer announces from the podium. “Do I hear XXXXXX?”

What these people want from her, Maki thinks as she watches the crowd, is the ability her purple eyes possess. Her gaze flicks from one bidder to the next. She isn’t looking at their faces, hidden as they are behind masks and veils. What she’s looking at, what she’s seeing- what she’s always been able to see- are the creatures standing next to these people. There are a lot of them, more humanoid than the ones she’s used to seeing, and all of them are staring right back at her. Maki shivers.

“XXXXXXXXX,” someone calls out from the crowd. There are shocked gasps and disgruntled grumbles at how high this person’s bid is so early into the auction. Maki tries not to gape- that’s more money than she’s ever heard of in her life, and this person is spending it on her?! She cranes her neck, trying to pick this person out from the crowd. No one contests their bid, and very slowly the auctioneer winds it down to a close. The room is full of muttering, none of it polite and all of it centered on one individual in particular. Maki is jerked upright and off the stage before she can really see the person who bought her. She gets the barest glimpse of a black dress cut scandalously low, a swathe of purple veils, and then the blindfold is re-wrapped around her eyes and she hurries to keep up. 

Back in the waiting room, Maki’s hands are untied and the blindfold is taken off again. Her hair is forcefully combed out of its perpetual bedhead by the irritated assistant of the man who bought her from the last set of foster parents. She’s given a short minute at the sink in the dingy bathroom to wash her face and clean her teeth. Dread fills her when she hears a feminine voice outside the door to the waiting room. Someone’s talking to the man who bought her. Going from the hands of one stranger to another is something she’s used to but this time she’s inexplicably scared. Maki tugs on a strand of hair, twisting it around her fingers. She’s so nervous she feels a little sick.

The door opens and Maki flinches so hard she accidentally rips out a few strands of hair. Her eyes water in pain and she closes them for just a second to wipe away the tears. When she opens them, there is someone standing right in front of her. Her gaze skips over a nearly bare chest, to the edges of a dark purple veil that does almost nothing to hide the fact that this person’s head is not a human one, but the horned skull of a creature Maki’s never seen before. The veil’s tiers swish and flutter charmingly when this person leans over towards her. Maki’s heart is beating so hard it hurts- she’s face to face with the distressingly large eye sockets- almost worse than empty nothingness, there’s a gleam of aqua, two points of light that regard her solemnly. She’s being looked at. She’s being asked a question. The language isn’t one she can put into words.

Her throat feels tight and her eyes ache. She can’t keep them open. 

“I don’t understand,” she barely manages to whisper. Maki passes out.

She wakes up in the backseat of a moving car. Her memory is fuzzy and the back of her head aches. Next to her sits the person from the auction. Maki crowds closer to the door, putting as much space between them as possible. Their appearance has changed but she knows, instinctively, that this is the person who bought her and whose head is missing. However, when she compares the person from the auction and the person sitting next to her in the car...this person’s appearance is entirely human. A human woman with long wavy purple hair and pale skin. She’s wearing a different set of clothing, too- no low cut dress or veils here, just a regular black business outfit like the ones Maki used to see on office workers back in Japan. It’s really her eyes that gave her away. They’re the same bright shade of aqua as the ones in the skull that had observed her so intensely back at the auction house. 

“Are you alright?” she asks in Japanese, leaning over towards Maki. “Feeling any better?”

“Where am I?” Maki asks warily, still pressed against the car door. She’s probably leaving grease marks on the window glass and grime on the seat, but she doesn’t care. This woman is dangerous in a way the rest of her foster parents and previous guardians never could be. 

“I’m sorry I scared you,” the woman continues, blithely ignoring Maki’s question. “I wanted to make sure your eyes were the real thing.”

“You could have just asked,” Maki snaps. “Where are you taking me?” The woman gives her a pitying look. It makes her seethe. She hates pity. 

“Would it matter if I told you? It isn’t like you have anywhere you can go, if you leave.” It’s stated matter-of-factly, with no malice behind it. Maki tugs on a strand of hair and scowls. 

“What am I here for, then?” she tries again. “Just tell me.” She scratches an itch on her leg while the woman hums softly to herself for a bit. 

“I won’t lie to you,” she says to Maki. Her voice is sweet and gentle. “You were sold to me as a rare ingredient, a truly once in a lifetime find. I’m not sure any of the other people at the auction really knew what they intended to buy, or what they could do if they bought it.” 

“Is that what I’m gonna end up as? As a- a potion ingredient, or something?” Maki asks, tugging on a new strand of hair. 

“Of course not,” the woman replies. Her aqua eyes are clear when she looks over at the girl sitting next to her. “You’re worth so much more than that, Maki.” The way she says her name has Maki paying attention. Her sudden interest in the conversation makes the woman smile. 

“My name is Nozomi. I’m a witch, and you, miss Maki Nishikino, are going to be my apprentice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a lot darker than the pieces I usually write but it was strangely fun. It's heavily inspired by The Ancient Magus Bride, obviously, but it isn't quite the same. For future reference, I use a plus sign '+' to indicate platonic or non-romantic relationships, as opposed to a slash sign '/' for romantic relationships.
> 
> I'm still getting the hang of writing the Love Live! girls so if you have any tips or feedback, I love getting comments :)


	3. Nozomi's Book of Friends (NozoUmi)

“No-zo-mi-chaaan! There you are!”

Nozomi turns at the sound of her name. Rin is running down the hall, waving to catch her attention. Nozomi smiles and allows Rin to throw an arm around her shoulders in a one-sided hug. 

“Rin! Don’t run in the hallways,” Umi scolds, trailing right behind her friend. 

“Sorry, Umi-chan,” Rin says without a trace of repentance. “I wanted to catch Nozomi-chan before she vanished again! I want to eat lunch with her today!” She punches the air with a fist and a big grin on her face. “Kayo-chin made enough rice balls to share, and Nozomi-chan hasn’t gotten to try them yet, so! Today!” 

Rin’s cheerful, easy friendliness was what drew Nozomi to the other girl when they first met. It had always been so difficult to connect with other girls her age, especially since she moved around so much and was never able to socialize. But Rin had welcomed her right into her circle of friends the day Nozomi had transferred into her class, easy as breathing. Rin had no problem with Nozomi’s sudden silences during conversations or her tendency to run out of the room at the strangest times. She kept trying to draw Nozomi out of her shell, and five months after moving here Nozomi was finally starting to try and return Rin’s gestures of friendship. This was easier than she’d been lead to believe by previous incidents with girls at other schools. All Rin wanted in return was someone to eat lunch with, who didn’t mind her tendency to express physical affection in the form of one-armed hugs and elbow jabs, someone to listen to her gush about the crush she had on the girl in class 2-B who she called Kayo-chin. These were small things. Nozomi was fine with starting small, and going from there. 

“Thanks for the offer, Rin,” she replies with a soft smile. “I’d love to eat lunch with you and Hanayo today. I have something to do first, though, so do you think you can wait a few minutes?” 

“Sure!” Rin beams. “Want me to take your lunch for you? Me and Kayo-chin’ll be waiting under the tree out in the courtyard.” Nozomi hands Rin her bento box, carefully wrapped by her foster mother in a light green furoshiki. Rin takes it and waves goodbye to Nozomi and Umi, turning on her heel and dashing back down the corridor. Umi starts to say something but just sighs, pushing her glasses back up her face before turning to face Nozomi with a stern look. 

Umi isn’t someone Nozomi ever thought she’d be friends with. She was their class representative, and when Nozomi had first transferred in she’d made it her business to get to know Nozomi and help her adjust to the school. That had been mostly at the advice of the school’s counselor and their homeroom teacher- Nozomi knew this since she’d accidentally overheard their conversation with the stoic girl while hiding from a yokai who’d made it past the flimsy barrier she’d put around the school a week or two after realizing it was a hot spot for yokai activity. Umi, unlike Rin, put a lot of thought into what she said and how she said it. She was a stickler for rules, like not running in the hallway, and she tended to nag at her classmates. Careful observation on Nozomi’s part led her to realize that it was because Umi was really just a worrywart and cared deeply about her classmates’ wellbeing. Nozomi wasn’t used to being taken care of by the adults in her life, let alone by other girls her age. It was sweet of her.

“Is it...are you exorcising another yokai, today?” Umi asks quietly after making sure no one’s around to hear her. “Did something happen with Miss Ayase?” Nozomi shakes her head ‘no’ to both questions. 

“No, not today. Today is just returning a name. I told them to wait for me on the roof when the sun was high. I won’t be more than five minutes, Umi.” You don’t have to wait for me, is what she leaves unspoken. Umi just smiles. 

“I’ll wait here, if you don’t mind.” 

Nozomi climbs the stairs to the roof and turns to wave at Umi when she reaches the top, even though they’re only a few feet away from each other. Light glints off the other girl’s glasses in reply. The door is already unlocked, so Nozomi eases it open and slips out onto the roof. A soft spring breeze ruffles her pigtails and Nozomi smiles. It feels nice after being cooped up in the classroom all day.

Nozomi’s ability to see yokai is something that she doesn’t talk about. The secret is one she’s kept close to her since she was a child. Everywhere she went, she saw spirits. In turn, those spirits often noticed her, and attempted to prey on her. The negative attention she received from troublesome spirits had gotten her labeled as a ‘weird’ girl, someone who caused problems for her guardians and teachers with her constant acting out and lying to cover up her absences or injuries. She was used to spending the day at school alone, going home alone, and spending her free time alone. 

Umi is the only person in this town who knows about Nozomi’s ability to see yokai. At her mentor Ayase’s advice, one of the first things Nozomi had done when she moved out here was make note of where all the shrines were located, in case something went wrong and she needed to get away from a particularly vicious yokai. She’d ended up needing help to defeat one a few weeks ago, and Umi had been the shrine maiden on duty who answered her call for help. It had been a surprise for both of them; Umi had pulled through her initial panic and helped Nozomi dispel the violent spirit. Maybe it was presumptuous of her, but after that, Nozomi liked to think she and Umi had gotten a little closer. They had something in common, now, and it was easier to talk to each other at school. Nozomi wasn’t comfortable sharing many things about her life, however, the possibility of one day opening up to someone about her past...the thought was comforting.

Nozomi blinks in the sunlight for a bit, searching the empty roof for her client. She walks around for a bit and almost trips over a large black and orange cat loafing near the edge of the roof. 

“Isn’t that a dangerous place to sleep, Nico-cchi?” Nozomi asks, squatting down and hefting the sleepy cat into her arms. “Were you waiting for me?” She rubs the orange patch on the back of its head a couple times. 

“I wasn’t waiting for you, stupid,” the cat mews even as it preens under Nozomi’s pets. Nozomi rolls her eyes when its face is turned. “I’m just here to make sure that my Book is safe.” The cat wriggles out of Nozomi’s arms and wraps itself around her legs. “Your client is over there, by the way.” Nico points one chubby paw at the maintenance shed across the roof. Sure enough, the yokai who caught her and asked for her time last night is standing in front of the shed. It turns at the sound of her voice.

“Nozomi? Of the Book of Friends?” it asks her. “My name?”

“That’s me,” Nozomi says cheerfully. “I’ll return your name, as promised. I just need to hear your name, first.” She pulls out the Book from her cardigan pocket, opening it to the first page. The youkai’s name is ‘Ruka’. A gust of wind, and the pages of the Book spring to life. Nozomi plucks the page out before it can get blown away.

The Book has been with Nozomi since she was small. It’s a relic from her grandmother, a woman who died before Nozomi could ever meet her and who was, if the stories are true, just as ‘weird’ as Nozomi herself is. It’s a simple purple notebook, made for a beginner calligrapher. The pages are full of names scribbled in hiragana with a variety of inks, none of them used in calligraphy. When she was little, she’d sit and silently read through them, imagining the people behind these strange names and the lives they might be leading. It wasn’t until she moved here and met Nico that she learned what the Book’s true purpose was and who the names belonged to. Nozomi’s free time after school was usually spent hiking in the forest near the Sonoda shrines or walking out in the fields, in search of the yokai whose names were written in the Book. She came home tired and hungry more often than she liked, but it made her feel better to see the Book lose its pages. Nozomi had never liked the idea of blackmailing someone like that. She wondered what sort of person that made her grandmother, to name it ‘The Book of Friends’. 

Nozomi places the page with Ruka’s name on it between her lips. She closes her eyes, breathing in the smell of hot concrete and dry grass, holding it. Her hair flows behind her, blown about by the wind. She breathes out swirls of dark ink. With her eyes half-open, she relives the story of how her grandmother met Ruka. It stings, like all the stories before it have. 

Ruka is grateful to have its name back and leaves the roof without a backward glance. Nozomi stands there staring out into the distance for another minute. Nico purrs and rubs its face against Nozomi’s legs some more until Nozomi picks it up again. With her arms full of cat, Nozomi finds it difficult to open the roof door again. It opens from inside, suddenly, and Umi almost knocks her over. 

“Ah, sorry, Nozomi,” Umi says, stepping to the side so Nozomi can enter the building again. The door closes and the two girls head down the stairs. Nico greets Umi with a disdainful sniff. Umi returns the favor by sticking her tongue out, just a little bit. 

“Be nice, Nico-cchi, or I won’t share my dinner with you tonight,” Nozomi chides. Nico huffs and pointedly looks away from Umi. The faint voices of other girls echo in the corridors as they continue down the stairs to the first floor and out into the courtyard. Nozomi sets Nico down once they’re outside. Nico immediately makes a beeline towards the nearest group of girls with open lunchboxes. Nozomi giggles at the sudden fuss they make over Nico, plying the chubby cat into their circle with snacks and pets.

“Shameless,” Umi remarks with a snicker. “Oh, there’s Rin, come on.” She reaches for Nozomi’s hand and tugs her forward. Nozomi’s glad that Umi is leading her and can’t see how she’s blushing at the sudden contact. Umi’s hand is warm, just like sunlight, and Nozomi doesn’t want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is shamelessly taken from Natsume's Book of Friends, a truly excellent anime that I recommend to everyone because it's the best thing I've ever watched. This AU was really fun to write and I hope you like it, too!
> 
> I try not to use honorifics in my writing, but Rin always uses them when talking to her friends, so I kept them in this time. Did it ruin the flow of the story for you, or was it okay? 
> 
> Some of the character roles weren't fully explained, so in case you're confused: Nico as Nyanko-sensei, Eli as Natori, and Umi as Tanuma. Hanayo and Rin are in the roles of Nishimura and Kitamoto. 
> 
> The NozoUmi ended up very, very light- it's really more like pre-slash, I guess? Next chapter I'll try to write something sweeter than just holding hands. If you have questions about this AU, feel free to leave a comment. I love getting feedback on my writing!


	4. The Disappearance of Minami Kotori-chan (KotoRin)

“You’re late, Rin!” Honoka points a finger accusingly at Rin. “You were supposed to be here ten whole minutes ago, y’know!”

“Sorry, Honoka-chan! I missed the stop and had to run back!” Rin whines, setting her bag on the restaurant table and sliding into the booth with a thump. She’s sweating, cheeks red with exertion. “It’s reeeally hot outside, too. I’m dyyying!” 

From her corner of the booth Kotori watches Rin bicker with Honoka about who’s paying for lunch today. She’s staring at the sweat dripping down Rin’s face, from her cheeks to her jaw and down her neck, finally lost in the soft mustard-yellow folds of Rin’s shirt. The clink of a glass on the table right next to her snaps her out of her daze. Kotori looks up at Nozomi, who slides the glass of ice water closer to her with a knowing look on her face. 

“You looked a little thirsty,” is all Nozomi says to her. She’s got an elbow on the table and rests her chin in a hand. She won’t stop smirking. 

“Aw, thanks, Nozomi. How thoughtful of you.” Kotori gives her the sweetest, most saccharine smile she can muster- one that promises death if Nozomi says anything more out loud. She kicks at Nozomi’s ankles under the table, too, for good measure. Nozomi laughs into her hand and kicks back. 

At the end of the booth seat, Honoka has her menu open and is loudly going through the list of desserts with Hanayo. Rin is still fanning herself with the drinks menu, one arm draped around the back of the seat she’s sharing with Nozomi. She catches Kotori looking at her and grins widely. 

“Hiya, Kotori-chan!” Her voice cracks and she coughs into her hand. Silently, Kotori pushes her untouched water glass over to Rin. There’s a drop of water left on the corner of Rin’s mouth when she finishes drinking. The restaurant’s aircon unit is on and the dining room is cool, but Kotori still feels a little too warm when Rin smiles at her again in thanks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one did not turn out the way I wanted it to, but I figured I should update this, so here it is. The title was taken from 'The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan'. It's just a regular slice-of-life scene, though, nothing special about it. 
> 
> As for the 'something sweeter than hand-holding' that I mentioned in the previous chapter...I guess I can't keep the promises I make about my own writing. Sorry! I'll try harder. 
> 
> I really appreciate getting comments if you liked my writing :)


	5. Kotori of the Iron Fortress (Kotori & Maki)

“A-are those knives? On the bottom of her sandals?” Hanayo whimpers, clutching at Maki’s shoulders like her life depends on it. Maki is too busy trying to catch her breath to reply out loud, so she nods stiffly instead. Their unexpected savior is the girl she’d seen earlier that day at the train station. She’d only seen her for a minute, but there was no mistaking that peculiar hairstyle or vibrantly colored dress.

The other girl doesn’t say anything as she pulls her sandal out from where it’s stuck in the throat of one of the undead that had been chasing them. Laid out in a ring around her are the rest of the twice-dead corpses, each decapitated by the shining blades on the bottom of the girl’s sandals. She ties the sandal back on and taps it back into place on her foot.

Maki shifts her grip on Hanayo’s legs, hefting her friend back up into a more comfortable position while being careful not to touch the clumsily wrapped cut on Hanayo’s thigh. Her heart is still beating a mile a minute, unused to the strain of her recent physical activity. She should really get going- the last train out of this doomed city is going to be leaving soon and she means to get Hanayo on it by any means possible, even if that means running all the way across this city that’s being swallowed by fire and undead. 

“Which way are you headed?” the girl asks. Her voice is high and clear, cutting through the stillness around them. She picks her way towards them and stops a few feet from Maki and Hanayo. Her single long ponytail swings loose around her shoulders, dyed red-orange by the fireglow. There’s a spatter of gore across her chest. Her beautiful clothes are stained with undead blood. She looks at Maki, hands clasped behind her back as she leans forward to hear Maki’s answer. Her eyes, too, are red-orange in the fireglow, and empty like the smile on her perfect face.

Hanayo clings to Maki without making a sound. She’s trembling with fear. Maki has to work past her own mild terror in order to answer.

“Train station,” she manages to say. “Evacuation…”

“Ah, the evacuation. Yes, yes. It’s this way,” the girl says, pointing down the hill. “Kotori was just on her way there. I’ll go with you.”

Maki would rather not have someone like Kotori accompanying them, but it’s not like she has the time or breath to argue with her. 

“Are you ready, Hanayo?” Maki asks. Her arms are burning with the effort of keeping Hanayo on her back. She jolts at the sound of someone’s dying scream from behind them. 

“Let’s go!” Hanayo cries, wrapping her arms around Maki’s neck. Maki doesn’t need to be told twice. She breaks into a jog, which becomes a sprint as the path downhill grows sharper. Kotori easily keeps up with her. The ornaments in her hair chime with every step she takes. Smoke rises around and above them as they get closer to the burning city. 

There’s a group of undead lingering at the base of the hill, blocking the set of stairs Maki needs to take to reach the train station. She stumbles to a halt and nearly drops Hanayo. Dismay and panic rise in her throat- is there no way around them, she can’t possibly fight off so many when her arms are full- 

Kotori jumps.

For a moment she is suspended in the air, like a bird taking flight. Beautiful, even, with the way her hair swings out behind her and how the fireglow reflects off the blades in her hands and on her sandals. Then gravity takes hold and she lands a kick directly into the first of the undead below her. In seconds Kotori has cleared an opening for her. Hanayo is crying now and that more than anything is what gives Maki the strength to start running again. She doesn’t look back to see if Kotori is following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for not posting anything new to this for....a long time, whoops. 
> 
> Title is referenced from 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress', a really good zombie apocalypse anime that I watched over the winter and enjoyed a lot. The outfits I had in mind for the girls were Kotori's idolized kunoichi outfit and the unidolized seven lucky gods outfit for Maki and Hanayo (the other traditional Japanese clothing cards they all have were too impractical).
> 
> Please consider leaving kudos if you enjoyed reading this- it gives me motivation to post more frequently.


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